October 5, 2010

Dad, thanks for the email :) And thank you for the medical information! It has been extremely helpful!

I'll address the fun stuff first. I have an appointment to see the urologist on Friday, but apparently there is a uro/gynocologist that works at the hospital who is amazing. It would be sweet to see him since I have a cyst+ ureterocele and he would know if things influence e/o etc. His name is Dr Justin Lee, and when the MTC health clinic called they didn't have an appointment until Dec, but the health clinic doesn't try hard at all to make things work out. If you think it would be much more beneficial to see him instead of a regular urologist, then try to get an appt and I think you or Dr Johnson would have a lot more success.

I am working really hard on not getting frustrated by the number of doctors’ appointments I am going to. My companions are a huge help to that. They are both so supportive and cheerful about the whole ordeal. Sister Steadman and I have had tons of adventures and studying together waiting for shuttles/appointments, and Sister Marshall stays in class with the Elders and teaches us what we've missed. I guess this is what I get for complaining about lack of adventures. :) I have felt the Lord help me SO much this week with the language even though I have missed a ton of class. Words and phrases stick easier then they ever have before, and I can speak and say what I want to say.

We taught the first lesson together 100% po polsku (in Polish), and it went great! My companions both were also more fluid and confident in the language. They’ve improved by leaps and bounds compared to any other week. I can't express how amazing it is to see God taking your limited abilities and making them work to serve his purpose. We were watching the RS broadcast on Sat night and it reminded me of that same thing. We all were just singing the melody, and in the last verse, the choir joined in with harmonies, descants, and the organ filled out the sound. That's exactly what I feel happening, it is incredible. As I give everything I have to sing my simple melody; it is taken and filled and made more powerful. I truly am learning about the enabling power of the Holy Ghost.

Last night as we were going to bed the fire alarm went off and all of the sisters had to evacuate our Residence Hall. My companions and I are good missionaries though; we stopped and looked around to make sure we had our nametags before we left. I felt like we should have been a little more urgent about leaving when I smelled the smoke in the hall. It turns out that one of the Sisters had burnt popcorn and set off the fire alarm. The poor sisters in the shower! We were kept up all night w/ instructions of opening and closing windows and doors to get the smoke out of the building.

I have been reading Jesus the Christ and looking up all of the references to things I find interesting. I have been learning so much! I also have been working on gratitude (especially with frustrations dealing with the MTC health clinic) and it has made a huge difference. My companions and I always share our tender mercy of the day as we walk home from class. It makes the day much more positive as I focus on the small or amusing things that went well. I am constantly reminded of the Bible study group that I would go to in Delhi. Marium was so aware of God's hand in her life in the smallest ways, even living in poverty. She shared a story about how her son had injured his finger, and they were really worried b/c they didn't know how he cut and injured it (with no tetanus shots and high risk of infection, even small cuts must be such a big deal!) She said that they prayed really hard that Abhi's finger would heal well, and she knew that thanks to the love of God it was all right.

On Wed I had the ultrasound. It was an awesome adventure. I woke up at 5:30 to drink the 40 oz of water they said I needed to drink (on an empty stomach) 1 1/2 hrs before my appointment. The shuttle driver was late, and paperwork took a long time, so it was 8:30/9 by the time I actually had my ultrasound. I was going to die. I was positive that my bladder was going to explode; even going up the elevator seemed like a dangerous thing to do. I told the radiologist that I needed to use the bathroom some or I else I wouldn't make it through the appointment. As she was doing the ultrasound (which was WAY cool to see all of the organs of my body) she said she was impressed at how much water I could hold.

Well, I love you, I need to go. Thank you, Savannah for the scriptures. I loved them. I think of you every day!!

-Siostra Stay